17:15 (close): London's leading shares index struggled to make headway today despite hopes that Greece's pro-euro parties are seeing a pick-up in support prior to next month's elections.

The FTSE 100 Index rallied by as much 60 points earlier in the session but with no impetus from Wall Street, where traders have been enjoying a public holiday, the top flight closed just 4.8 points higher at 5356.3.

The initial rally gave investors a break from last week's volatility as reports suggested more Greeks want their country to keep the euro and as support for conservative parties gathers pace.

The pound was down at 1.24 against the single currency, boosted by the renewed optimism, while sterling was up against the US dollar at 1.56.

The banking sector lost hold of an initial boost with Barclays reversing a 2% gain to slip 0.7p to 181p but state-backed lender Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland were up by 0.2p at 26p and 0.1p at 21p respectively.

The mining sector remained higher following reports that the Chinese government has taken further steps to boost growth in the country amid fears the economy is coming off the boil.

Risers included Antofagasta, ahead 21p at 1038p, Kazakhmys up 10.5p at 690.5p and Rio Tinto, which climbed 62.5p to 2857.5p.

The rebound of riskier assets left safe-haven stocks from the utility sector out in the cold, with National Grid down 6p at 678.5p and SSE off 11p at 1348p. Severn Trent, which is due to post results on Wednesday, slipped 21p to 1680p.

In the FTSE 250 Index, engineering software and IT services firm Aveva made good progress after posting a 14% rise in full-year profits to £62.3 million.

It expects the recent good growth in the oil and gas industry to continue to boost the firm alongside its recent expansion in mining, fuelling shares by 11% or 157p to 1638p.

Other risers in the second tier included industrial services group Cape, which recovered some of the ground lost after a profits warning on Friday.

The group strung shareholders last week by warning of a £14 million hit from costs associated with an LNG project in Algeria. Shares were up 20.7p at 225.7p.

Elsewhere, coal mine operator Hargreaves Services saw a 28 per cent plunge in its shares after it warned of a lengthy production gap due to unprecedented geological conditions.

The group said work on preparing a new panel for use at Maltby Colliery in Rotherham later this year has been suspended due to the significant ingress of water, oil, gas and other hydrocarbons.

Shares were down 299p at 760p after Hargreaves said the problem would cause a production gap of 12 to 16 weeks, potentially hitting profits by £16 million in the year to May 2013.

The biggest Footsie risers were Weir Group up 62p at 1614p, ITV ahead 2.4p at 78.9p, Xstrata up 27.2p at 939.8p and Capita ahead 18p at 629p.

The biggest Footsie fallers were International Airlines Group down 3.8p at 137.1p, BP off 7.7p at 399.7p, Kingfisher down 5p at 274.9p and Tesco off 5.1p at 304.5p.

16:35:The FTSE has gained a few points and now stands at 5,358.

TV, films and music distributor Entertainment One, which is listed in London, today unveiled a 33 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to £43million in the year to March 31. Read more here.

The Coryton refinery in Essex is to be closed, putting 850 jobs at risk, as attempts to find a buyer or cash needed to keep it going failed, its administrators said today.

The refinery, which supplies 20 per cent of fuel in London and the South East, went into administration earlier this year when its Swiss owner Petroplus filed for bankruptcy. Read more here.

14:40: The FTSE is slightly down at 5,368. Spain's borrowing costs rose again today after plans to recapitalise Bankia were taken as a sign the country would struggle to shore up its banks.

The yield on 10-year Spanish bonds rose to 6.5 per cent, climbing towards the tipping point of 7 per cent which last year saw Ireland and Portugal forced to seek bailouts from the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

The interest rate is at its highest since November when the European Central Bank was forced to step in and buy Spain’s debt to bring yields down. Read more here.

The price of olive oil has plunged to a ten-year-low as consumers in struggling southern European countries cut down on consumption while a bumper crop in Spain has boosted supply.

The glut of the Mediterranean food staple is dragging down prices – good news for British consumers but potentially devastating for growers across Spain, Italy and Greece, who are already struggling as a result of the eurozone crisis.Read more here.

12:00

The FTSE 100 Index rallied 50.7 points to 5402.3, a much-needed change from last week's volatility as reports suggested more Greeks want their country to keep the euro and as support for conservative parties gathers pace.

The surge towards riskier assets left safe-haven stocks from the utility sector out in the cold, with National Grid down 4.25p at 680.25p and United Utilities off 2.75p at 646.25p. Severn Trent, which is due to post results on Wednesday, slipped 18p to 1683p.

More...

In the FTSE 250 Index, engineering software and IT services firm Aveva made good progress after posting a 14 per cent rise in full-year profits to £62.3 million.

It expects the recent good growth in the oil and gas industry to continue to boost the firm alongside its recent expansion in mining, fuelling shares by 11 per cent or 165.5p to 1646.5p.

Coal mine operator Hargreaves Services saw a 31 per cent plunge in its shares after it warned of a lengthy production gap due to unprecedented geological conditions.

The group said work on preparing a new panel for use at Maltby Colliery in Rotherham later this year has been suspended due to the significant ingress of water, oil, gas and other hydrocarbons. Shares were down 337p at 722p.Read more here.

11:00

The FTSE100 is up around 57.49 points at 5,409.02 on the positive news from Greece. David Jones, Chief Market Strategist, IG Index, said: ‘The reaction to poll results may be seen as a little fickle and we have got used to any positive news quickly getting swamped by the next tranche of disappointment, but it has lifted the London index back to its best levels for nearly a week.'

Volumes are likely to remain low throughout the rest of the day. Simon Denham, CEO of Capital Spreads, said: 'Today is Memorial Day in the US so markets across the pond are closed and we can expect low volumes as a result over this side.

'The next couple of weeks see lots of bank holidays in various countries and as the summer months get underway, with in particular the double whammy bank holiday in the UK next week for the Queen’s Jubilee, volumes may struggle over the coming weeks.'

09:15:

The FTSE 100 is up 34.99 points at 5,386.52, after reports over the weekend indicated more Greeks wanted their country to keep the euro and support for conservative parties was higher.

The banking sector was boosted by the improved sentiment with Barclays 1 per cent or 1.9p higher at 183.6p and state-backed lenders Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland up 0.2p at 26p and 0.2p at 21.1p respectively.

The mining sector was also higher following reports that the Chinese government has taken further steps to boost growth in the country amid fears the economy is coming off the boil.

Risers included Antofagasta, ahead 26p at 1043p, Vedanta Resources, up 23.8p at 990.3p and Anglo American, which climbed 40.5p to 2041.5p.

Outside the top flight, coal mine operator Hargreaves Services saw a 31 per cent plunge in its shares after it warned of a lengthy production gap due to unprecedented geological conditions.

The group said work on preparing a new panel for use at Maltby Colliery in Rotherham later this year has been suspended due to the significant ingress of water, oil, gas and other hydrocarbons. Shares were down 337p at 722p.

08:30

The FTSE 100 rose around 1 per cent in early morning trade, as hopes of a victory for parties committed to keeping Greece in the eurozone boosted markets and tempted bargain-hunters out to buy badly-beaten stocks.

The blue-chip index was up 54.03 points, or 1 per cent, at 5,404.56 points by 08:05. Miners and banks were among the best-performing stocks, with Rio Tinto up 3 per cent and Royal Bank of Scotland up 2.2 per cent.

‘Anything that allays fears over Greece is a positive. People are just looking for a bit of respite, with the value-players getting back into equities,’ said Bastion Capital's head of equities Adrian Slack.

08:00

The FTSE 100 index is expected to open up by between 14-17 points, or 0.26-0.32 per cent this morning, according to financial bookmakers, helped by polls showing the pro-bailout parties committed to keeping Greece in eurozone regaining the lead ahead of elections next month.

'Markets have given weight to Greek polls that saw a shift back towards the conservative party which reflects a nation starting to understand its options,' said Andrew Taylor, financial markets strategist at GFT Markets, in Sydney.

'For traders however, basing decisions from the outcome of polls that in reality have no fundamental influence should do so at their own risk.'

The UK blue chip index closed up 1.48 points, or 0.03 per cent, at 5,351.53 points on Friday, after uncertainty about developments in the eurozone and an economic slowdown in China capped an earlier rally.

The euro bounced off two-year lows this morning after Greek conservatives topped opinion polls ahead of another general election, triggering covering of massive short positions on hopes Athens may agree to austerity steps and remain in the euro.

Japan's Nikkei average ended up 0.2 per cent on Monday, after recording its eighth straight week of declines last week.

Bankia will be in the spotlight again after a government source said on Sunday Spain may recapitalise the lender with Spanish government bonds in return for shares in the bank which last week asked for rescue funding of 19 billion euros.

Trading volumes should remain muted on Monday, with U.S. markets closed for Memorial Day, while markets in a number of European countries including Switzerland, Norway, Denmark and Austria were closed for a bank holiday. Monday is also a bank holiday in France and Germany, although their equity markets were open.